Will I love Gettysburg?

Part of the enduring popularity of the Battle of Gettysburg studies, is that the battle offers a true microcosm of the American Civil War—from politics to personalities. A meeting engagement, a desperate struggle, a turning point, and human tragedy on a scale the continent had never seen before, the events of those three days in July still resonant down the years. Guelzo’s book, besides being one of the most recent, offers wonderful descriptions of every facet of the battle with finely-crafted prose and a pacing that will keep readers invested from start to finish.

Accounts of individual battles are also abundant, none more than the 1863 battle of Gettysburg, which was the symbolic if not the strategic turning point of the Civil War. Guelzo, a historian who taught for many years at Gettysburg College, not only brings the battle to life in this vivid, dramatic, cliff-hanging account of the epic three-day battle. He also brings to it a scholar’s precision, wise and original assessments of the leading protagonists, and a sophisticated, multi-level grasp of campaign strategy. His intimate personal familiarity with the battlefield itself often makes the very landscape feel like an active participant… show more.